“We’ll take our stand for this land and the stranger in our midst.” – Bruce Springsteen, Streets of Minneapolis
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
It is hard to believe that last week we were at Children’s Theater on Wednesday, before they shut down for the weekend after the big ICE Out rally on Friday with subzero temperatures and the shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday morning. Then, husband John had knee replacement surgery on Monday while my cousin was struggling in the hospital with sudden severe kidney disease. It has been a week to remember… Bruce Springsteen even memorialized it by releasing a new song, “Streets of Minneapolis”! The federal administration can’t understand what is happening here, why try as they might to incite riots the people instead respond by standing with their neighbors in peaceful resistance. Adam Serwer in The Atlantic called it “neighborism”… a quiet, radical belief in caring for the people around us, no matter where they come from. I have never been prouder to be a Minnesotan.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
We didn’t have family night this week, we were lucky to get home from the hospital just before what would have been dinner time. John asked for an old-time breakfast strata, a recipe from over 40 years ago… hearty and soul-warming from my college roommate who happens to be married to John’s cousin. You can tell it is an old-fashioned recipe… just lists the ingredients with no further instructions so I added minimal instructions. Original recipe called for 2 pounds sausage, John said it had too much meat… adjust accordingly according to your taste.
CAROLYN’S BREAKFAST STRATA
- 3 English muffins
- 2 cups herb croutons
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1-2# breakfast sausage, cooked
- 8 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup milk
Assemble all in a big bowl. Tear English muffins into bite-size pieces, add a package of croutons, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, breakfast sausage fried and separated into bite-size pieces. Beat 8 eggs, dry mustard and milk in another bowl and add to the other ingredients. Mix well and put into a lasagna-type pan.
Refrigerate over night and bake in 300 degree F oven the next morning. Mix mushroom soup and milk and heat. Cut strata into serving size pieces and top with hot mushroom sauce.
